China cries foul, calls planned UN event on Xinjiang 'total blasphemy'
Story highlights
Some Western states and rights groups have accused authorities in Xinjiang of detaining and torturing Uighurs in camps, which the United States has described as genocide
China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying on Monday said that a planned event at the United Nations on the repression of Uighur Muslims and other minorities in Xinjiang was an insult to the institution.
"The US has rounded up a few countries to abuse the resources and platform of the United Nations to smear and attack China to serve its interests. This is total blasphemy against the United Nations," Hua said at a daily news conference in Beijing.
Some Western states and rights groups have accused authorities in Xinjiang of detaining and torturing Uighurs in camps, which the United States has described as genocide.
In January, Washington banned the import of cotton and tomato products from Xinjiang over allegations of forced labour.
Beijing denies the accusations and describes the camps as vocational training centres to combat religious extremism.
(With inputs from agencies)